Roswell Rudd - Regeneration (Soul Note, 1982)

 This post is by Dan

Roswell Rudd (tb); Steve Lacy (ss); Misha Mengelberg (p); Kent Carter (b); Han Bennink (d)

Recorded June 25 and 26, 1982

Regeneration is a collaboration between Roswell Rudd and Steve Lacy that honors two legendary jazz artists: Herbie Nichols and Thelonious Monk. Rudd has devoted other albums to Nichols' music, and Lacy has done the same for Monk. Nichols and Monk both approached composing and playing obliquely, although they are quite different from each other. The album affords some comparison between the two honorees, but that not the reason I consider this album to be a favorite of the decade. 

I mainly like this album because it positions all five players in a setting in which their respective strengths as improvisers are magnified. In addition to the passion of Rudd and the coolness of Lacy, pianist Misha Mengelberg and drummer Han Bennink keep things burning, much like the cover art suggests. These are all rowdy players who are in complete command even in the loosest-sounding moments. I think the compositions demand a touch of rowdiness. Neither Nichols nor Monk wrote "beautiful" music, but it can become beautiful in the hands of the right players. 

The success of Regeneration rests on the right material, the right players, and the right producer (Soul Note's Giovanni Bonandrini). Bonandrini must have enjoyed the results of Regeneration because he produced a second tribute to Herbie Nichols, Change of Season (Soul Note, 1984). That date is led by Mengelberg, includes Lacy, and is the subject of a future post.